[H1]EXCLUSIVE: The successful bidder for Hitchin town centre site Churchgate has dropped out, Nub News understands.[H1]

The shopping centre that borders onto Hitchin's evocative Market Place had been up for sale - prompting a bidding war.

It is understood that while Churchgate was on sale for around £2.5m, the winning candidate, a property developer, went as high as £4.2m in order to clinch the deal - blowing preferred bidder North Herts Council out of the water.

The Churchgate saga continues

With a scandalously poor quality building in such a vibrant area of our town, the issue of what to do with Churchgate has been raging for decades.

However, the issue has been complicated by the fact that there are only 75 years remaining on the freehold.

Freehold effectively means you own the property, land it sits on and the space above it. However, in building and property ownership terms 75 years is considered low. Meaning that there would be little incentive for a developer to invest substantial sums in revamping a site in the long term.

A source told Hitchin Nub News that the winning bidder had underestimated the issues behind plans to renovate or rebuild Churchgate. This including higher than expected costs and a reluctance by the council to agree to plans to turn the area into residential property, rather than retail space.

There was also the fact that North Herts Council - who were outbid during the process - are the body that will determine which plans are ultimately passed for Churchgate.

All of which could potentially hamper plans by a property company to redevelop the site, especially regarding bids that are not deemed sufficiently sympathetic to the town centre.

It is also believed that the developer had no wish to boost retail space, meaning Churchgate - or the vast majority of the site - could be turned into residential accommodation.

Town centre apartments on the Churchgate site are something that NHC is firmly against - all of which has left an intractable impasse between the council and winning commercial bidder.

What happens next

Hitchin Nub News understands that talks are ongoing with other possible suitors but it is believed the site will go back to a tender process at some stage if no agreement can be made.

However, Churchgate will continue to diminish as an attractive site for property developers, leaving the possibility that NHC will be successful at a far lower offer price, as and when when the bidding process resumes.

NHC told Nub News: "The leasehold remains unsold.

"Hammersmatch and its lender remain in discussion with several interested parties, one of which is still the council."

What happens next is vital to the long-term health of Hitchin town centre, with NHC strongly interested in the site.

If the council were successful they would then appoint a private company to run a consultation with the Hitchin public as to the best way to revamp the area. This would then see the site improved and developed, to make the area a 'destination' visit for shoppers and leisure seekers.

Plans could even include possible plans for a cinema and restaurants to run alongside local businesses.

However, a project such as that is a very long way off as things stand today.

Speaking to Nub News, Hitchin MP Bim Afolami said of the long running saga: "I can't intervene in the process but what I would like to say is that there has to be provision for people in Hitchin to have a say on proposals that work for them.

"The issue of Churchgate has been hanging over Hitchin for far too long and it is important that all involved come to a decision that suits everyone, including benefiting people who live and shop in our town."